The Bay Turns Four, and the Party Is Happening Around the Parts Still Being Built

"What we learned after the storm was that the riprap, the revetment, which are those large stones, the size that was located there was too small and moved." Diana Shaheen, chief operating officer of The Bay Park Conservancy, said that to WSLR reporter Gretchen Cochran in early September. She was describing what Hurricane Milton showed the park's team in October 2024.

That one lesson goes a long way toward explaining The Bay this October. The park is throwing a month-long fourth birthday with more than 70 free events. The newest things you can actually see here this fall aren't the Plaza or the waterfront restaurant. They're a pile of boulders by the Van Wezel lot, a kayak launch that just reopened, and new turf on the lawn. Building against the next storm now drives the park's calendar. The anniversary is being held on the ground that's already finished.

The rocks by the Van Wezel lot

If you've parked at Van Wezel lately, you've probably seen them. WSLR reported that rocks "as big as your refrigerator," trucked in from Fort Myers, were stacked along the edge of the parking lot. They're part of a $10 million project to harden the shoreline just north of the hall. The plan is to place them so that seawater pushed in by a hurricane slows down before it crosses the park and reaches the historic buildings along its edge.

The boulders are only the start. In this first phase, called the Resilient Shoreline, the slope rises from five feet to eight and a half feet, with a rain garden and a walkway along its border. Shaheen told WSLR that a later phase will raise the center of the park to about 20 feet. The same $10 million project also covers Centennial Park, the boating area just north of the 10th Street entrance with the canal, the launch ramps and day parking.

At the July 21 board meeting, founding CEO AG Lafley said the 2024 storm damage gave the team a chance to redesign the Resilient Shoreline and upgrade the existing park. The same minutes carry new dates for the rest of Phase 2.

Why the Plaza is now a summer 2027 story

In May, Your Observer expected The Plaza to open this October. That's the renamed Town Square along Van Wezel Way, between the Municipal Auditorium and the Chidsey Library. It's a gathering and event space built around a large shade structure. By the July board meeting, that date had moved. Conservancy minutes say The Plaza is behind schedule because of "shade structure construction challenges" and will be done by summer 2027.

The waterfront restaurant is on a similar timeline. Venice Pier Group is the operator, and Sweet Sparkman is the architect for the restaurant at the old Coast Guard station. It's scheduled for fall 2027. As of WSLR's September 8 report, construction hadn't started on the restaurant site at the corner of the canal and the park. Three more restaurants are in the long-range plans.

The City of Sarasota's anniversary release puts it this way. Phase 2 covers 14 acres, costs $65 million, is fully funded, and is expected to finish in 2027. Funding for Phase 2 is in place. The construction problems are what pushed the dates.

What reopened this month

The clearest sign of progress for anyone who uses the park is on the water. Ride & Paddle, a Sarasota rental company operating since 1995, reopened at The Bay Park Kayak Launch on Thursday, October 1. The site had been closed while construction went on around it. You can book two-hour rentals of single kayaks, double kayaks and stand-up paddleboards. Two-hour guided tours of the park's mangroves are running again too. The free guided kayak tours with the Conservancy are also back. The park's calendar lists an October 2 tour from its ADA-accessible launch.

"You're in the middle of downtown, and within a few minutes you're paddling past mangroves and wading birds," owner Trish Sadd said in the company's announcement. "We've missed being out there."

Other changes are under your feet. The Common Ground lawn now has new Tip Top Turf, which the Conservancy's July board minutes describe as more resilient, salt-tolerant and durable. In July, the board also said the Sunset Deck would grow to more than double its size, using sustainable ipe wood, "over the next few months." The deck has programming on its October calendar, so it's open for events whatever stage the expansion has reached.

If you come by boat, the floating day docks on the south side of the Centennial Park boat basin are free. They're first come, first served, with a five-hour limit and no overnight stays.

The anniversary month, on finished ground

The Bay's first 10-acre phase opened in October 2022. The Conservancy counts more than 1.2 million visits since then. It's marking the anniversary with One Park FOUR All, which runs October 1 through November 1. Six signature events anchor the month:

Beyond those six, the month fills in with dozens of other free events, including live music, movies, dance, Opera at The Bay, fitness classes, family activities and guided kayak tours. Architecture Sarasota's "Moderns that Matter" tours and the Sunday music series continue as usual. Every one of these events happens on the original 10 acres, the part of the park that's already built.

The calendar keeps going after the anniversary ends:

• November 8, 4:30 p.m. A Veterans Day tribute by The Pops Orchestra Brass Quintet
• November 15, 4:30 p.m. Clover's Revenge
• December 2, 6:30 p.m. Salsa & Sunsets and Dancing with Donald
• December 4, 10:00 a.m. An Architecture Sarasota tour

The full schedule is on The Bay's calendar.

The vote that comes after the party

The anniversary ends November 1. Later that month, Florida voters decide a property tax referendum that could decide when the rest of the bayfront gets built. In late July, City Manager Karie Friling recommended pausing six "generational projects" until after the election. Her reason was an estimated $5.5 million hit to city property tax revenue by fiscal year 2029 if Amendment 3 passes. The list included The Bay's Phase 3 construction and the Sarasota Performing Arts Center. Commissioners didn't adopt a blanket pause. They voted unanimously to have Friling spell out which parts of each project would keep moving. No later vote on either project has been reported, so both are still undecided, not canceled.

Phase 3 is the part closest to the boat basin. The City and County have approved plans and a budget of about $19 million for Phase 3A at Centennial Park. That covers more boat launch and trailer parking capacity, new restrooms, better stormwater management, and more green space and walkways. The County Commission hasn't committed its share yet and may wait for the referendum before deciding. The full Phase 3 is estimated at $59 million to $69 million. It would also turn the current Van Wezel parking lot into a park, with limited parking under the green space and a parking garage built by the city.

The performing arts center would sit in the northeast corner of that same lot. The plan has been scaled down to a 2,200-seat hall with a flex space, based on a preliminary concept by Renzo Piano Building Workshop. The cost estimate is $260 million to $295 million. The implementation agreement between the city and the Sarasota Performing Arts Foundation is two years late, and city staff are still meeting with the foundation about it.

Put it together and the order is clear. The shoreline gets raised and armored first. The Plaza and the restaurant follow in 2027. Then the Van Wezel lot, Centennial Park and the new hall wait on decisions that come after the music fest. Lafley and Shaheen have said they expect the whole 53-acre park to be finished by 2030.

If you'd like to talk through how the bayfront's next few years could shape your part of Sarasota, Argelia Vidal and the team follow these projects closely and are happy to share what we're hearing. Let's Connect.